Weiss pleased with win over Guam

BACOLOD, Philippines – Azkals coach Michael Weiss was quick to quash feelings of dissatisfaction among those who felt somehow disappointed that the supposedly far superior Phl XI prevailed over lightweight Guam by just a 3-0 scoreline in Tuesday night’s Fifa friendly at the Panaad Park and Stadium.

“We should be satisfied. We dominated the match very clearly and we had many, many goal-scoring opportunities,” Weiss said in the presscon after the Independence Day victory spiked by Angel Guirado’s brace (7’, 46’) sandwiching Carli de Murga’s first international goal (12’).

 “Ahead of the match I heard players saying less than 3-0 is disappointing. I find that disrespectful. We had the 3-0 and we’ve created many chances and could have won 5-0 so it’s a satisfying result,” he added.

Guirado, making his first appearance in a site largely considered the birth place of the Azkals, fired a curling shot early in the game to set the tone for the attack-conscious Phl side. 

Fellow Fil-Spaniard De Murga, a defender, joined the fray with a brilliant finish to make it 2-0 before Guirado found the back of the net a second time via a header off Dennis Cagara’s free kick just before the break.

“I was very happy with the two goals but what’s important is the team won,” said Guirado, who swayed his arms like a bird in flight after each connection. “This is a good preparation for the AFF Suzuki Cup and we’ve also seen that little by little, the Phl as a team is progressing, the level getting higher.”

De Murga said Weiss had instructions for the defenders to join the assault.

“Coach wants to attack from fullback and I ran a lot today. But I scored my first international goal so I’m happy,” he said. 

After that first-half surge, the Azkals fired blanks, including misses on clear shots on goal by Denis Wolf and Phil Younghusband.

“The first half today was a very good performance from the team, the second half as well but we didn’t score a lot. We couldn’t score more against a stubborn opponent who gave us a hard time,” said Weiss.

“But it was a good test for us, a good test also to bring in a new player like Jeffrey Chistiaens, Jason De Jong, after a certain period of time out, and Anto Gonzales for his first match. We also gave Fil-Danish Dennis Cagara and Jerry Lucena their time with the team, helping us improve cohesion,” he added.

The Guam friendly capped the Azkals’ three-match slate during the Fifa calendar days in June. The Azkals played reigning Suzuki Cup champ Malaysia to a scoreless draw in Malaysia last June 1, and fought Indonesia to a 2-2 stalemate over at the Rizal Memorial last June 5.